America’s Most Wanted
Overview Network: FoxTV (ended in June 2011) and LifeTime (began September 2011) First Episode: April 10, 1988 - present Last Episode: March 2013 Status: Uncertain Cast: * John Walsh - Host History Details: America's Most Wanted was the first public service television series to appeal to the public for help in solving cold police cases and in locating fugitives from justice. Although Unsolved Mysteries predates it as a January 20, 1987 special, AMW is the first series to work with the cooperation of the police, government and law enforcement officials. It was created by human and victim rights activist John Walsh after the abduction of his six-year son Adam who had been kidnapped and murdered. Episodes featured anywhere from five to eight cases per episode which were profiled and recreated by actors and included interviews with friends and family members of victims, the local police and witnesses. On occasion, the actors involved in the recreations were sometimes confused with the fugitives. As popularity of the show increased, Walsh began extended the range of the show to also assist local authorities in locating missing persons, particularly the abduction of Elizabeth Smart, and recurring awards to members of the law and rescue organizations for conduct well and above the call of duty. Walsh also became supporter of the Missing Children Act known as the Adam Walsh Child Protection Act to protect the rights of children and promise quick police reaction in the disappearance of children. Despite it's popularity, AMW was briefly cancelled for a month and a half in the fall of 1996 in the wake of high production costs, but protests from politicians, law enforcement officials and viewers successfully prompted Fox to reinstate it. Fifteen years, later, on May 16, 2011, Fox successfully canceled it with the last regular episode airing on June 18, 2011, although the network relegated it to a limited series of specials. However, it returned as a regular weekly series on Lifetime on December 2, 2011. The last original episode aired on October 12, 2012 before the series was officially canceled by Lifetime in March 2013. Links: * America's Most Wanted on Wikipedia Episodes America's Most Wanted shares the following cases with Unsolved Mysteries. * John Addis * Michael Alfonso * Gregory Barker * Jill Behrman * Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman * Amy Billig * Molly Bish * Brad Bishop * The Black Dahlia * Jerry Lee Bowen * Amy Bradley * Rickey Bright * James Bulger * Jim Burnside * Rufino Castaneda * Richard Church * Regina and Margaret Defrancisco * Astarte Davis * David Davis and Shannon Davis * Edmonton Rapist * Adam Emery * John Feiga and Erica Richardson * Albert Leon Fletcher * Miranda Gaddis and Ashley Pond * Michaela Garecht * Alan Golder * Malaika Griffin * Lance Guevarra * Hazel Head * William Eugene Hillard * Jesse James Hollywood * Interstate 70 Killer * Johnathan Kern * Samantha and Ann Kibalo * Las Cruces Bowling Alley Massacre * Chandra Levy and Joyce Chiang * Kenneth McDuff * Michael McGuffey * Amy Mihaljevic * Frank Morris and the Anglin Brothers * Mary Morris and Mary Morris * Lisa Myers * Morgan Nick * Steven Oliver * Elizabeth Ortiz * Desiree Perkins * Jameika Porch * Craig Pritchert and Nova Guthrie * Stryder Styarfyr * Michael Swango * Mickey and Trudy Thompson * Frederick Russell * The Unabomber * Randall Utterback * Clayton Waagner * Debi Whitlock * Mia Zapata * Zodiac Killer ---- Category: TV Series